


All day long you'll have good luck

by S_Horne



Series: A May Medley [23]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Established Relationship, Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts, Fluff, M/M, Retired Steve Rogers, This is just self-indulgent fluff and nonsense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-23
Updated: 2019-05-23
Packaged: 2020-03-13 07:19:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18936097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/S_Horne/pseuds/S_Horne
Summary: Steve rolled his eyes again and reached out to swat Tony’s thigh. “Just open it, you idiot. I won’t buy you anything else if you’re going to do this every time.”Tony clasped a hand over his heart. “Rude. Is that how you treat all of your lovers?”“Only the annoying ones. The ones that sit still, shut up, and look pretty usually get treated a lot better.”Steve’s tone was so dry that Tony couldn’t help but snort. “Dick. But seriously, what’s with the gift?” Tony folded one leg under himself and looked at Steve in question. “I know I didn’t miss a birthday and our anniversary isn’t until June – don’t comment – so it can’t be that.”ORNational Lucky Penny Day





	All day long you'll have good luck

**Author's Note:**

> I was working myself into a stress because I could not think of anything to write. One frantic message to the fair and lovely [Iggysassou](https://randomstufffromotherblogs.tumblr.com/) sparked this
> 
> Day Twenty-Three: _National Lucky Penny Day_

“For me?” Tony grinned as Steve handed him a wrapped gift. He lifted it to his ear and gave it a light shake. “What is it?”

“It defeats the point of me having wrapped it if I just tell you,” Steve said with a fond eye roll as he settled back against the headboard, stretching his legs out straight and crossing his ankles. “I might as well have just taken you with me to buy it.”

“Yeah, but half the fun of getting a gift is annoying the giver by trying to guess what’s in it. So, what is it?” When it became clear that Steve wasn’t going to say anything else, Tony shook the rectangular gift again. “Socks? A tie? Oh, I know! A _puppy_.”

Steve rolled his eyes again and reached out to swat Tony’s thigh. “Just open it, you idiot. I won’t buy you anything else if you’re going to do this every time.”

Tony clasped a hand over his heart. “Rude. Is that how you treat all of your lovers?”

“Only the annoying ones. The ones that sit still, shut up, and look pretty usually get treated a lot better.”

Steve’s tone was so dry that Tony couldn’t help but snort. “Dick. But seriously, what’s with the gift?” Tony folded one leg under himself and looked at Steve in question. “I know I didn’t miss a birthday and our anniversary isn’t until June – _don’t_ comment – so it can’t be that.”

Steve’s grin grew wider and cockier and Tony regretted ever admitting to knowing their anniversary. Sue him; it was the only relationship he’d had that he looked forward to celebrating milestones in. Maybe that had something to do with growing up and becoming an adult, or maybe that was just the effect that Steve Rogers had on a person.

“I don’t really have an occasion. I just thought you’d like it. And I knew I’d like giving it to you at that.”

“Well, colour me intrigued.” Tony slid a finger under one seam of the wrapping paper – gold, he was pleased to note – and started to open it. When he ripped the paper off and threw it off the edge of the bed, he found himself staring down at a glass box frame. In the very centre, dwarfed by its plain surroundings, was a single penny. One copper cent.

Tony blinked at it and his brow furrowed. He looked up to see Steve, ever the neat freak, reaching down for the paper. “What is it? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I obviously love it. But what is it?”

Steve gave a soft smile, his hands running over the screwed-up ball of paper to smooth it out. “It’s a penny.”

“That, I can see.”

“It’s my lucky penny.”

Tony stared. “It’s a what?”

Steve laughed lightly and broke their gaze, looking down at the bedsheets for a moment. “On our first date, I bought you a coffee. Remember? We were coming back from a press conference that had run over so we’d missed our dinner reservations. I asked you if the date could be saved and you said–”

“‘A coffee counts as a date’.”

“Exactly.” Steve smiled, that soft and sweet smile that Tony loved so much. The one that was just for him. “And it cost me all the change I had in my pocket at that moment. All except for one penny.”

Tony’s mouth went dry at the implication. “So this is…”

“That’s that. One penny from our first date.”

“Six years ago.”

Steve gave a small hum of agreement.

“You kept a single penny for six years.” Tony narrowed his eyes and looked down to further inspect the coin encased in glass. “How do I know it’s the same one? My penny might be in Timbuctoo for all we know.”

Steve chuckled and shook his head. “Not possible. It went in the box with my dog-tags as soon as I got home. And then it went in my shoe.”

Tony’s head shot up. “It did what now?”

“Went in my shoe. My uniform boots. Right down at the front – perfectly placed under my left big toe. Every mission we’ve been on since we started dating, I’ve had that penny in my shoe.”

Despite knowing how gormless he would look, Tony couldn’t stop his mouth from falling open. What was he meant to say to that? Six years of missions and Steve had kept something with him from their very first date. Through arguments and fights, breakups and makeups, Steve hadn’t once forgotten. He’d kept a little bit of Tony, a little bit of the two of them together, with him when he needed it the most.

“Well,” Tony said, coughing a little when his voice came out strangled. “I hope you washed it.”

That was definitely the least romantic thing he could have said, but it made Steve throw his head back with laughter.

“I did, sweetheart, don’t worry.”

Tony cracked his own smile before dropping his gaze back down, thumb stroking over the glass in wonder. “So why now? Why frame it and show me?”

“I’ve hung up the shield,” Steve said simply. “I don’t need to carry this in my shoe for luck anymore. I’ve retired; ready for the quiet life.”

“You still need luck. Who knows what might happen?”

Steve shrugged. “I’ve got you. I’ve already been pretty damn lucky, I’d say.”

Tony had never felt so much love before. It was like a tidal wave crashing into him, surrounding him completely and threatening to swallow him whole. It was almost hard to breathe through the sudden rush of emotion and the coin before him started to swim with the unshed tears in his vision.

“I don’t think anyone could be luckier than me,” Tony said softly, honestly. He cleared his throat again quickly and reached over to set the frame on his nightstand, brushing away scraps of metal and other debris that Steve hadn’t gotten round to sorting. “But seriously, a penny? Who actually keeps change on them these days?”

Steve huffed a laugh and caught Tony’s arm as he went to sit back. “I keep change on me.”

“Yes and that’s what I’m saying,” Tony said, letting himself be tugged into Steve’s side. “It’s all about plastic now, dear. Little cards that you can tap, tap, tap. None of this metal business to slow you down.”

Steve dropped a kiss onto Tony’s head and sighed. “Of course, Tony. I can take it back if you’d like. Ask them to frame a credit card instead?”

Tony poked Steve in the side, digging his fingers in just below Steve’s ribs, right where he knew would make the man squirm. Tutting in faux-disgust, Tony leant his head back onto Steve’s shoulder and fixed his eyes on his new gift.

“I love you, you know? Always have, always will. Cap or no Cap, cash or card.”

“I know,” Steve murmured into his hair. “Just as I love you.”

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I love you all for reading this


End file.
